New Delhi- In an unprecedented move, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Tiruchi Siva, and several opposition leaders have jointly written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), expressing what they describe as "grave concerns" over the state of India's democracy, the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), and the integrity of the electoral process.
In the detailed letter dated June 28, the leaders said they were taking the "unusual path" of directly approaching the judiciary because they believe the country's democratic institutions are under unprecedented strain. They emphasized that the letter was not intended to influence any pending judicial proceedings but was written to strengthen public confidence in democratic institutions.
The opposition leaders began by stating that democracy can survive only as a collaborative exercise involving Parliament, the Judiciary, the Executive, the media, and free and fair elections.
According to the letter, while Parliament enacts laws and the Executive implements them, the Judiciary acts as the constitutional guardian and the media scrutinizes governance. However, they argued that the entire democratic framework becomes vulnerable if elections fail to reflect the genuine will of the people.
"When the electoral process is tainted, the outcome becomes suspect and the will of the people becomes the victim," the letter states.
A major portion of the letter is devoted to criticism of the Election Commission of India.
The opposition alleged that since 2014, appointments to the Commission have increasingly been of individuals perceived to be closely aligned with the ruling government, compromising the institution's independence.
Referring to the Supreme Court's judgment in the Anup Baranwal vs Union of India case, the leaders noted that the Court had recommended a more independent appointment mechanism involving the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of Opposition. They criticized Parliament's subsequent law replacing the CJI with a Union Minister in the selection committee, arguing that it effectively restored executive control over appointments. They pointed out that this law remains under judicial challenge.
The opposition further alleged that the Election Commission has selectively enforced the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by overlooking violations committed by the BJP while acting against opposition parties.
According to the letter, the Commission allegedly ignored repeated communal and inflammatory speeches made by leaders of the ruling party while remaining silent on such violations.
The letter strongly attacks the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The opposition claims the exercise, first introduced in Bihar, was justified on the grounds of identifying illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators but no evidence or data has since been released to substantiate those claims.
They argue that:
Electoral rolls have already been continuously updated since digitisation in 2002.
A fresh revision of such magnitude should ordinarily require at least one year.
Conducting the exercise immediately before elections was politically motivated.
The documentation requirements disproportionately affected poor citizens, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, migrant workers and illiterate voters.
Many eligible voters lacked the required documents.
Booth Level Officers (BLOs) allegedly filled forms themselves, forged signatures and uploaded applications without voters' consent.
In some instances, forms were allegedly submitted even in the names of deceased persons.
Frequent changes in Election Commission instructions created administrative confusion.
The grievance redressal mechanism was inadequate.
Large-scale deletions of voter names occurred without proper notice.
The opposition described the entire process as "inherently exclusionary" and intended to benefit the BJP.
The letter claims the situation became even more serious during the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections.
The opposition alleged that:
Approximately 2.4 lakh Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel were deployed, an unusually large deployment compared to previous elections.
Nearly 27 lakh voters were deleted from electoral rolls under a previously unused category called "logical discrepancies."
Most deletions allegedly occurred in constituencies where the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) enjoyed strong support.
Election Tribunals subsequently found a significant proportion of these deletions to be wrongful.
The letter cites the example of one tribunal headed by Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, where 1,717 out of 1,777 deleted names examined were reportedly restored, indicating a wrongful deletion rate of about 96%. Based on this, the opposition contends that more than 25 lakh voters may have been wrongly deprived of their voting rights.
The leaders also criticized:
1. Transfer of 483 senior officials, including the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary.
2. Appointment of Returning Officers allegedly favoured by the Election Commission.
3. Lack of adequate representation of opposition nominees at counting centres.
4. Even some Booth Level Officers reportedly being unable to vote themselves.
The opposition leaders further claimed that Assembly elections in Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra were also manipulated, though they did not provide detailed evidence within the letter.
They asserted that sufficient material has already been placed before the Election Commission and exists in the public domain to justify reforms aimed at restoring public confidence.
The letter urges the Supreme Court to ensure that future Special Intensive Revision exercises are suspended until well before any forthcoming elections.
Instead, the opposition suggests that if such an exercise is necessary, it should be conducted when no Assembly election is due for at least five years, allowing Election Commission officials sufficient time to conduct door-to-door verification instead of relying on document-heavy procedures.
The leaders also noted that several states are scheduled to go to elections in 2027, making immediate reforms necessary.
The opposition also raised concerns regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Without alleging specific technical failures, they argued that growing public questions regarding electronic voting warrant wider national discussion.
The letter calls for serious consideration of restoring paper ballots, stating that transparent elections require public confidence in the voting process.
Beyond elections, the opposition accused central investigative agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of being selectively used against opposition parties.
According to the letter, these agencies have allegedly been employed not only to target political opponents but also to influence electoral outcomes and destabilize elected governments.
The letter concludes with an emotional appeal to the Supreme Court, describing the judiciary as the institution in which citizens place their "ultimate trust."
While stressing that they were not questioning the judiciary itself, the opposition leaders expressed concern that if democratic institutions continue to weaken and judicial intervention does not restore confidence, citizens may lose faith in constitutional mechanisms.
"When all else fails, people still repose their trust in the judiciary. So when the judiciary fails to respond, it indicates a complete breakdown of the Republic... We leave that question for you to ponder upon," the letter concludes.
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